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Material Safety Data Sheets |
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What is an MSDS? |
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Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) provide detailed health and safety related information for specific chemicals and compounds. In order to comply with state regulations governing employee "chemical right-to-know", all purchasers and users of chemicals MUST have copies of the applicable MSDS on file. They must also be on file in the workplace (i.e., the location where the chemical is being used, stored etc.).
Copies of the Arkansas regulations governing employee "chemical right-to-know" and MSDS's may be obtained from the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) by calling 575-5448 or by stopping by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, located in the Facilities Management Complex.
How do I get an MSDS?
- Ask your Supervisor
Your supervisor should have all MSDS's for any chemicals that you work with. These should be kept in a binder that is available to all employees at the work site for immediate access. If this is a new substance or a replacement MSDS is needed, try one of the other options.
The Office of Environmental Health & Safety Office
The Office of Environmental Health and Safety maintains an extensive library of MSDS's. All students, faculty and staff are invited to search these volumes for any required MSDS. Copies can be made free of charge. Please see the disclaimer below.
Ask the Distributor
Each distributor of chemicals and compounds (e.g. local vendors, suppliers, Scientific supplies, Central Supply, etc.) should be able to provide an MSDS for stock material or material ordered. The best time to request an MSDS from a distributor is when the material is ordered. This way the MSDS can be shipped/delivered along with the order.
Ask the Manufacturer
It is the responsibility of the chemical manufacturers to ensure that distributors and purchasers are provided with the appropriate MSDS with their initial shipment, and with the first shipment after an MSDS is updated. When a specific request is made, many manufacturers will willingly send an MSDS directly to the chemical user, regardless of how many shipments have been made. If you are ordering material directly from the manufacturer, the best time to request the MSDS is when the material is ordered. This way the MSDS can be shipped/delivered along with the order.
The Internet and CD-ROM databases
There are many companies that sell generic, computerized MSDS databases in CD-ROM format. There are also many free MSDS databases available on the internet. You can find a few of these sources here. EH&S maintains a computer terminal in our library which is available for internet searches. Please call EH&S at 575-5448 for further information. Please see the disclaimer below.
- Write your own MSDS
The user of a chemical or compound DOES NOT have to rely upon information contained in an MSDS obtained from any of the above sources. Users can develop their own MSDS from scratch. In fact, any generator of "noncommercial" hazardous chemicals and compounds (but NOT hazardous waste) generated as a product of campus research or a process, should develop a unique MSDS for those products. Please call EH&S for further information on locally developed MSDS's.
DISCLAIMER
Environmental Health and Safety disavows any knowledge as to the accuracy or applicability of any MSDS within the EH&S library, or MSDS's obtained from any other source. MSDS's are manufacturer specific - MSDS's developed by one manufacturer may or may not be an appropriate substitute for the same chemical produced by a different manufacturer. Due to the huge number of different chemicals used at the university, it is possible that some of the MSDS's in the library may not be the current revision.
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